Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).Prayer Concerns for the Week of 04/16/14
South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda
In July 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan as a result of a 2005 peace agreement that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war. Two years later, fighting broke out between government forces loyal to the president and rebel factions loyal to his deposed deputy. The conflict has killed thousands of people and forced more than 800,000 to leave their homes. Disagreements with Sudan over vast oil reserves in South Sudan is contributing to border disputes between the two countries. There are also several other complex, on-going disputes that contribute to the volatility of South Sudan’s border regions. One involves a cattle-raiding feud between rival ethnic groups in Jonglei State where hundreds of people have been killed and an estimated 100,000 have been displaced in the past three years. The African Soul, American Heart’s (ASAH) Boarding School for Orphan Girls is located in this state.
• Please keep close in prayer the girls who fled ASAH’s boarding school when Sudanese rebels attacked and ransacked their school compound last month. Thanks be to God the villagers and the school’s students and staff had advance warning of the attack and were able to seek safety. And give God thanks the ASAH staff have been able to locate most of the students who fled the attack and transfer them to Juba, South Sudan’s capital city. Pray for the safe return of the remaining girls.
• African Soul, American Heart website
• Pray for the staff and volunteers with ASAH as they set up a new home in the Moyo District of Uganda for the orphaned girls. Pray God will provide the resources needed for the new facility as the rebels took everything they could from the compound, including mattresses and pots and pans.
• Please pray for the girls as they adjust to a new home and school in Uganda. Pray for those who’ve been traumatized by the violence in their home country.
• Pray the ASAH staff will be able to continue their work of protecting orphaned girls from forced marriage when they reach puberty; educating them in school subjects and life skills; and empowering them to be leaders and give back to their communities.
• Please keep all the children of South Sudan and Sudan close in prayer during this time of unrest and conflict. Pray they might have the opportunity to attend school and help their communities develop and sustain peace.
• Pray for peace and reconciliation between Sudan and South Sudan.
United States
One-quarter of the United States’ American Indian and Alaskan Native children live in poverty. Native American children also experience two times the rate of abuse and neglect as non-native American children. They are twice as likely as any other race in the U.S. to die before they reach the age of 24. And they are more than three times as likely as the national average to take their own lives and up to 10 times more likely on certain reservations. The root cause of the struggles of today’s Native American children is likely connected to the historical trauma experienced by their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. In the 1870s, the federal government began sending American Indian children to off-reservation boarding schools in an effort to control hostile Native nations. The objective was to “erase and replace” Indian culture—students in federal boarding schools were forbidden to express any facet of their culture. In many instances, boarding schools were centers of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. The practice of transplanting Native American children continued for almost a hundred years until it was phased out.
Pray for Native American youth and children affected by the abuse inflicted upon their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents in off-reservation boarding schools. Pray for those who suffer abuse as a result of the aftermath of this century-long attempt to assimilate Native American children.
• Pray for Native American children and youth who experience hopelessness and despair to such a degree they believe suicide is their only option. Pray for those who don’t have access to mental health care, counseling services, or family support.
• Please pray for girls who are victims of repeated sexual and domestic violence. Pray they are able to access support services for survivors. Pray for God’s healing presence in their lives.
• Pray the high incidence of youth suicides in Native American populations will be drastically reduced. Pray young people in these communities will be able to see a future for themselves and not give up hope.
Faces of Children
• Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.
• Please keep in prayer Faces of Children intercessor John as he recovers from recent back surgery. Pray for God’s healing touch upon this faithful prayer partner and for a complete recovery.
If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to Chris Laufer, FOC Coordinator, at claufer@facesofchildren.net
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